Joe Napsha stories, Page 31
Court will decide who fills vacant Norwin School Board seat
The Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas will make an appointment to fill a vacancy on the Norwin School Board. Four candidates were considered for the seat that became vacant when Joanna Jordan died Aug. 1, but the board couldn’t reach a consensus. Jordan’s term expires in December. The Norwin...
Roofer dies in fall in Robinson
A Burgettstown man died Monday when he fell from a roof where he was working in Robinson, according to Tribune-Review news partner WTAE. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner identified the man as 27-year-old Rudy Davila. Davila fell from the roof of a building in the 200 block of Clever Road...
Mt. Pleasant SportZone closes; hockey rinks for sale
An East Huntingdon indoor sports arena and entertainment center that had multiple names through almost 20 years and drew hundreds of boys, girls and their families for weekend inline hockey and other tournaments will have an entirely new purpose. Snowplows, salt spreaders and tree cutter supplies will soon fill the...
Decision delayed on new North Huntingdon car wash
Plans for a car wash in North Huntingdon hit a snag this week when township zoning board members questioned the idea of constructing the building 25 feet from busy Route 30, one-half the setback required in the municipality’s ordinance. When it was clear that all four members present at the...
Arrest made in Clairton homicide after standoff in McKeesport
A Clairton man wanted in connection with a fatal shooting Aug. 25 was arrested Thursday after a short standoff with law enforcement in McKeesport, the Allegheny County Police said. The suspect, Edwin Wiley-Biggs, 42, was arrested by the Allegheny County Police Department’s SWAT team when he peacefully came out of...
Indiana man accused of threatening Homer-Center School District
An Indiana man was arrested Thursday after allegedly sending a threatening video to a Homer-Center student in which he was seen wielding a shotgun and indicating he was arriving at Homer-Center School District, state police at Indiana said. The suspect, Spencer T. Baker, 18, is accused of sending the video...
Norwin area: Irwin police to get golf cart; craft and vendor show in Irwin, and more
Irwin police to get golf cart Irwin police will have another vehicle to use during the many community events that are held in the borough. Irwin Council on Sept. 5 accepted a fully-outfitted golf cart from Brad Harrison, owner of Harrison Auto Sales of North Huntingdon. Mayor Jeff Clem said...
Norwin library considers renovation project estimated at $400,000
The Norwin Public Library board is considering renovations to the library that could include an addition to its children’s room, converting a reading lounge into a meeting room and other improvements that could cost about $400,000, the library director said this week. The library’s director, Diana Falk, told Irwin Council...
Westmoreland 250: 10 things to see in West Newton
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a...
Amazon challenge: Finding workers to fill hundreds of jobsVideo
When Amazon casts a net for workers to receive and distribute consumer goods at its new 1-million-square-foot warehouse in New Stanton, it will be doing so in a tight labor market. “That is one of the big challenges,” because of the loss of workers in Southwestern Pennsylvania, said James Futrell,...
Motorcyclist killed in Route 119 motorcycle crash in Salem
A Salem man was killed Friday night when his motorcycle hit a utility pole’s guy wire along Route 119 in Salem, Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson said. The victim, William Earl Rager, 44, was driving the Harley Davidson motorcycle southbound when he lost control and hit a drainage culvert on...
Scottdale man arrested in McCandless bank robbery
A Scottdale man has been arrested for allegedly robbing the Huntington Bank on Tuesday, McCandless police said Friday. The suspect, Raymond H. Zwibel, 51, was charged with robbery and receiving stolen property for allegedly robbing the Huntington Bank in 800 block of McKnight Road, at McIntyre Square, according to documents...
5th car wash proposed for North Huntingdon area
The North Huntingdon area could become the unofficial car wash capital of the county. A fifth car wash in the area is being proposed by Boing US Holdco Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., at the site of a former medical office at 12279 Route 30, located just west of the Norwin...
North Huntingdon restaurateur not slowing down, despite being on kidney transplant list
As Sam Murray makes tacos in the kitchen of his North Huntingdon restaurant and talks of a plan to ride his bicycle across the country, it’s hard to image he undergoes kidney dialysis before work three days week. Or that he’s awaiting a kidney transplant. “I am not surrendering to...
Pittsburgh area jobless rate hits record low, but workforce levels remain down
The seven-county Pittsburgh region’s unemployment rate fell in July to its lowest level in 47 years, but the labor force has yet to regain the 46,000 workers it had before the pandemic wreaked havoc on the economy. The unemployment rate fell by 0.2 of a percentage point to 3.7% in...
Divided Norwin board can’t agree on school district pick
The two factions of the eight-member Norwin School Board could not agree this week on any of four candidates to replace a school director who died this month, setting up the possibility the decision could go to a Westmoreland County judge. The school board failed to give any of the...
Truck tears up North Huntingdon soccer field turf
Volunteers with a North Huntingdon soccer club are scrambling to repair damage created last week when someone tore up the turf by driving a pickup around one of the fields, a club official said. “The field was darn near perfect. They‘re not hurting us (adults). They took away from our...
North Huntingdon man recognized for service by Air Force Honor Guard
Bill Priatko has had many roles in his nine decades — playing football for the University of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Steelers, teaching at Norwin, coaching football at Swissvale High School, being Yough’s athletic director and selling Wrigley gum — but the one he cherishes most is his duty with...
D.A.R.E. drug prevention program slated for Norwin, led by a North Huntingdon police officer
A North Huntingdon police officer will instruct Norwin students this school year in a program designed to prevent substance abuse. Students will be taught basic skills to make good decisions regarding at-risk behaviors such as taking drugs or drinking alcohol. The North Huntingdon commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding with...
North Huntingdon building likely will house Primanti Bros., ice cream shop
A Primanti Bros. Restaurant & Bar and an ice cream shop are likely tenants for the bottom floor of a four-story office building coming to North Huntingdon. Township officials unanimously approved plans for the 29,000-square-foot office building to be built at the Huntingdon Marketplace development along Mills Drive. Colony Realty...
Olive Garden at Pittsburgh Mills discriminated against disabled person, federal commission claims
The Olive Garden restaurant in the Pittsburgh Mills shopping complex in Frazer is accused of discriminating against a man by not hiring him for a busboy’s job two years ago because of his disability, according to a federal lawsuit. GMRI, which operates the Olive Garden restaurant at Pittsburgh Mills, allegedly...
Norwin area: Norwin VFW Post seeks members; library plans book sale; car and truck show in Herminie set and more
Norwin VFW seeks members The J. Howard Snyder Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 781 on Billot Avenue, North Huntingdon, is seeking qualified veterans to join the organization. Kory Bulloch, VFW Post commander, said that potential members need to present their DD-214 papers as proof of service in a combat zone....
Norwin library to hold book sale
The Friends of the Norwin Public Library will hold a “pop up” book sale from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, in the library’s lower level at 100 Caruthers Lane, Irwin. A wide selection of gently used books will be available. All proceeds benefit the Norwin Public Library....
Westmoreland Fair Queen a double winner
Presley Thomas of Mt. Pleasant Township turned out to be a winner on Friday when she was selected as the 2023 Westmoreland Fair Queen and then again on Sunday when she won first place in senior showmanship for rabbits at the fair. “All of us girls (four in the fair...
Greensburg grandmother sells collection of more than 100 Barbie dolls
It was a Barbiepalooza day for a Greensburg grandmother, who on Sunday was selling her collection of more than 100 Barbie dolls for less than what she paid for them in her 30 years of collecting the colorfully-costumed character. Why sell them now after holding onto them since the early...

